2025

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California will require home insurers to offer policies in high-risk wildfire areas

Housing Wire

The California Department of Insurance unveiled a new regulation this week that aims to increase homeowners insurance coverage in areas prone to wildfires , a response to the recent pullback in policies by several major insurers. Announced by California insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara on Monday, the regulation is under administrative review and is set to take effect by the end of January, according to reporting by The Associated Press (AP).

Insurance 523
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HUD Grants Millions to Help End Homelessness, Prevent Evictions

Appraisal Buzz

As the New Year settles in, unfortunately, homeownership and financial stability are still a worry for millions of hard-working Americans. Through the Eviction Protection Grant Program (EPGP), a first-of-its-kind federal program created to increase the availability of legal services to tenants at risk of or subject to eviction, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) granted $40 million in funding to 21 recipients to support housing stability and prevent evictions and homeless

Tenants 468
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Real estate trends to watch in 2025

Sacramento Appraisal Blog

Whats the housing market going to do in 2025? Nobody has a crystal ball, but here are some things on my mind. Scroll quickly by topic or digest slowly. Anything to add? UPCOMING SPEAKING GIGS: 1/15/25 Mike & Joel Event (free online (register Eventbrite)) 1/16/25 Sac Real Producers event (details TBA) 1/22/25 Windermere El Dorado […] The post Real estate trends to watch in 2025 first appeared on Sacramento Appraisal Blog.

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Lower mortgage rates spark housing demand heading into spring

Housing Wire

Earlier this year, when mortgage rates soared to 7.26%, a cloud of worry hung over the housing market many feared that home sales would tumble in 2025, fueled by concerns about inflation and tariffs. But when it seemed doom and gloom would prevail, the 10-year yield dropped, pulling mortgage rates lower in a lovely slow dance. This unexpected turn of events breathed new life into the market, pushing purchase application data into positive territory for the year.

Mortgage 536
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Leverage Trellis Court Data To Identify More Investment Opportunities

Finance teams find Trellis to be particularly effective in conducting comprehensive due diligence on both individuals and businesses. With our court data solution, financial experts can access critical litigation insights, making it an invaluable resource for informed decision-making in the financial sector.

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No, homeowner delinquency rates aren’t elevated

Housing Wire

Homeowner delinquency rates are rising from record low levels but arent even back to pre-COVID-19 levels yet. This weekend, there has been a lot of discussion on social media surrounding homeowners’ delinquency data. This situation has prompted me to write this article and bring some reality into this discussion because the narrative being pushed is simply not true.

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2025 could be the last year of inventory shortage

Housing Wire

Home prices in 2025 are a couple percentage points above where they were last year at this time. People often ask, How can it be possible that home prices are still climbing even though the cost of money is so much higher? There are obviously fewer buyers who can afford these prices. One reason that home prices have stayed elevated is that inventory nationally is still restricted.

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Pulte makes sweeping changes to boards of GSEs

Housing Wire

Not wasting any time following his Senate confirmation last week, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte made a series of major changes to the boards of government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The news was first reported by Inside Mortgage Finance.

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Mortgage rates fall after remarks by Fed President Waller

Housing Wire

The 10-year yield and mortgage rates have been on a wild ride lately, even testing my top-end forecast at 7.25%, but today, the 10-year yield fell after remarks by Fed President Chris Waller about whether the Fed would do even more rate cuts than the market was anticipating. His statement on this, in a CNBC interview : If inflation continues on this path through the beginning of 2025, it’s reasonable to think that possibly rate cuts could happen in the first half of the year.” This w

Mortgage 511
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Home sellers who didn’t list on the MLS lost $1B in sale proceeds: Zillow

Housing Wire

Home sellers who did not list their properties on the MLS lost out on more than $1 billion in sale proceeds over the past two years, according to a study published Monday by Zillow. The study also found that these losses were deepest in communities of color. Zillow defined communities of color as ZIP codes where a majority of households are headed by Blacks , Hispanics , Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders or Native Americans.

Sellers 501
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The Constructor's Digital Transformation Playbook: Reducing Risk With Technology

Speaker: Dylan Secrest

Construction projects are high-stakes operations where even minor inefficiencies can lead to costly delays, safety concerns, and budget overruns. Managing risk in construction has always been a challenge, but as projects grow in complexity, traditional methods no longer cut it. Enter Digital Transformation - a game changer approach that replaces inefficiency with AI-powered analytics, real-time monitoring, and automated workflows to proactively manage risk.

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LA fires upend rental market as residents scramble for housing

Housing Wire

Several fires burning more than 45 square miles in the Los Angeles area have forced more than 100,000 residents from their homes and killed five people, The Associated Press reported on Thursday. Nearly 2,000 homes, businesses and other structures have been destroyed, with many displaced residents scouting for rental properties and temporary shelter.

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Rising mortgage rates zap builder confidence

Housing Wire

Todays housing starts data exceeded estimates; however, a closer examination of the report with the builder confidence reveals that the recent rise in mortgage rates , approaching 7.25%, has negatively affected builder sentiment. Since late 2022, our analysis indicates that mortgage rates in the 6%-6.5% range are positive to grow sales, whereas rates at 7% and above especially 7.50% or higher significantly impact the builder data.

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Why new home sales are disappointing, despite beating estimates

Housing Wire

Todays new home sales report beat market expectations, just like last weeks existing home sales report. However, a detailed analysis of the data explains why housing permits continue to remain at recession-level figures. Builders are struggling to get clarity on how many homes they can sell in this rate environment in the future. Without more clarity on mortgage rates , substantial growth in housing permits is unlikely.

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Lowest mortgage rates in months create surge in applications

Housing Wire

Mortgage applications increased 20.4% from one week earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis as buyers pounced on lower rates , according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Associations (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending Feb. 28, 2025. On an unadjusted basis, applications increased 22% compared with the previous week. The refinance index increased 37% from the previous week and was 83% higher than the same week one year ago.

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Need Curated Pre-foreclosure Lists to Generate New Real Estate Leads? Trellis Has the Data!

Trellis is a state trial court research and analytics platform that provides Real Estate Professionals (Buyers, Foreclosure, Loan Modification, etc.) with LEADS on Pre-Foreclosures, Lis Pendes, Distressed Assets and more — to help uncover **new** opportunities and grow their business. The process is quick and easy — and all in real time. Trellis will supply you with a link to the relevant dockets, a Leads sheet and access to its UI where applicable.

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Mortgage applications climb as rates continue to decline

Housing Wire

Mortgage applications increased 11.2% on a seasonally adjusted basis from last week, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Associations (MBA) weekly mortgage applications survey for the week ending March 7, 2025. On an unadjusted basis, the index increased 12% compared to last week. The refinance index saw a 16% uptick from the previous week and was 90% higher than the same week one year ago, largely driven by a dip in the 30-year fixed rate observed by the MBA.

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Mortgage rates have dropped sharply. How will borrowers respond?

Housing Wire

March figures to be a crucial month for gauging consumer interest in the 2025 housing market. The pace of home sales remains near a 30-year low point as home prices and mortgage rates keep potential borrowers in wait-and-see mode. But mortgage rates have posted an unusually large decline in the past week. On Tuesday, HousingWires Mortgage Rates Center showed that the average 30-year conforming rate was 6.89%, down 12 basis points (bps) from a week ago.

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Stone Point Capital takes a stake in Keller Williams

Housing Wire

Keller Williams has entered into a strategic partnership with private equity firm Stone Point Capital , according to an announcement on Monday. Stone Point is no stranger to the real estate industry, as it also holds strategic investments in Lone Wolf Technologies , Homepoint , CoreLogic and Meridian. This is an exciting milestone for all Keller Williams agents and franchisees, Gary Keller, the co-founder and executive chairman of Keller Williams, said in a prepared statement.

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Housing resources and help for victims of the LA fires

Housing Wire

Real estate and mortgage firms are stepping up to help housing professionals and the Southern California community as wildfires ravage the area. Here’s a roundup of the companies and people offering help, which will be updated with new information as it becomes available. Help for those in the community Coldwell Banker Realty in Southern California, which is affiliated with Anywhere , created a Facebook group page for its network to coordinate a wide variety of needs from short- and long-t

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Why didn’t we see a national home-price correction in 2024?

Housing Wire

Existing home sales ended the year on a positive note , which aligns with our weekly Housing Market Tracker data, but something surprising is that home prices firmed up late in the year as well. We observed a shift in the forward-looking data starting in the summer, which continued throughout the year. Notably, we compared the data from 2022 and 2023 and noticed positive year-over-year data starting in October 2024, which you can see in the chart below.

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Seattle leaders struggle to agree on a path forward for housing

Housing Wire

This week, the Seattle City Council had its first meeting of 2025 and housing was a key topic of discussion. But if the meeting itself was any indication, determining a path forward for the citys severe housing shortage will be a struggle as elected leaders attempt to ascertain a sustainable plan for the next decade, according to reporting by The Seattle Times.

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Higher insurance premiums are a shoo-in after the LA wildfires

Housing Wire

As wildfires tear through Southern California and firefighters battle winds up to 100 mph, tens of thousands of residents have evacuated. The looming impacts on real estate and insurance are also at the forefront of Californians minds. According to Anthony Marrone, the fire chief for Los Angeles County , the wildfires have torched more than 1,000 structures, killing at least two people and injuring several more.

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Single-family rentals are more expensive than apartments — and the gap is growing

Housing Wire

Single-family rental ( SFR ) homes are now priced 20% higher than the typical apartment, according to Zillow s rental market report for December 2024. This is the largest difference ever recorded by the real estate portal as the pricing gap has grown considerably from pre-pandemic levels. Zillow analyzed the 50 largest U.S. metro areas and found that the typical asking rent for a single-family home reached $2,174 per month in December.

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The state of US homeownership: Younger buyers hold the key

Housing Wire

Today, the Census Bureau reported the homeownership rate at 65.7%. Are we becoming a renter nation like many people are saying? Lets look at the data. Household formation Let’s first talk about household formation. I have a simple model (even more appropriate before Valentines Day). My American housing demographic model shows that Americans: Rent Date Mate Get married 3.5 years after marriage, we have kids and dual-income households buy bigger homes to live in.

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New homes account for the highest share of sales since 2005

Housing Wire

The housing market in 2024 was about as frustrating for the real estate industry as you can imagine. High mortgage rates, low inventory and sky-high prices resulted in historically low sales at a time when agents are already wrestling with the changes related to the $418 million antitrust settlement signed by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Sellers 468
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Survey: Nearly 90% of homeowners are worried about selling

Housing Wire

A large majority of homeowners (88%) have concerns about selling their homes, with financial uncertainty and housing market conditions ranking among their top fears, according to a recent survey by Clever Real Estate. The survey , which polled 1,000 homeowners at the end of 2024, found that the most common concerns include the stress of the sale (42%), the high costs of selling (40%), the inability to afford a new home (32%) and not selling for a high enough price (32%).

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New-home sales hit highest level since 2021

Housing Wire

New home sales continue to be a bright spot in a dismal housing market. The December report from the U.S. Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development shows new-home sales registering at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 698,000, good for a 6.7% rise year over year and 3.6% higher than November. Even better, new home sales for the calendar year 2024 are estimated at 683,000, which is 2.5% more than 2023 and the highest sales have been since 2021.

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Better mortgage spreads are capping rates in 2025

Housing Wire

Another jobs week has come to an end, and amid the chaotic headlines about job numbers, tariffs , and the leadership of the Treasury , mortgage rates remained calm. Better mortgage spreads are limiting how high rates can rise in 2025. This situation contrasts with the challenges the market faced in 2023, during the banking crisis when the Federal Reserve was still raising rates.

Mortgage 490
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Rocket Companies announces deal to acquire Redfin for $1.75 billion

Housing Wire

Today, Rocket Companies announced it has entered into an agreement to purchase digital real estate brokerage Redfin in an all-stock transaction valued at $1.75 billion in equity. The deal, which has been approved by the boards of directors of both Rocket Companies and Redfin, is expected to close in the second or third quarter of 2025. Rocket’s press release stated that Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman will continue to lead the Redfin business, reporting to Rocket Companies CEO Varun Krishna.

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Sell more homes: 17 home staging tips for real estate agents

Housing Wire

If you thought winning a listing was challenging, just wait until you have to start telling a homeowner what to do with their home in order to sell it quickly. Home staging is your chance to transform a property into a home that buyers cant wait to get their hands on. Homeowners can be reluctant to make some of these changes, but its your job to guide them through the process.

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Will home prices fall in 2025 with more inventory?

Housing Wire

Fluctuating interest rates have been a feature of the housing market over the last three years. As mortgage rates rose, homebuyer demand slowed and inventory grew. In 2025, mortgage rates have stayed stubbornly high for yet another spring buying season. Today, home sales still remain super slow. Our 2025 housing market predictions are based on the assumption that lower mortgage rates will spur demand and boost the number of homes sales transactions.

Inventory 418
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New Home Sales Dropped in January as Builder Pessimism Took Hold

Appraisal Buzz

New home sales plummeted 10.5% in January compared with December to reach a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 657,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Year-over-year, new home sales were down 1.1%. The median sales price of a new home sold in January was $446,300. The average sales price was $510,000. As of the end of the month, there were about 495,000 new homes available for sale in the U.S, about a nine month supply at the current sales rate.

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Where Is Housing Inventory Rising the Most?

Appraisal Buzz

The U.S. has experienced two decades of slow but steady housing market growth, paired with inventory growth that has suffered through both the Great Recession and the pandemic. Only now is it returning to 2006-2007 levels, with a typical annual increase of over 1%. A new study by StorageCafe analyzed data from nearly 500 cities from the past 18 years to determine the cities with the fastest growing housing markets, and the South was a clear winner.

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